As consumers increasingly leverage technology in their daily lives, many research products remotely via a mobile device before visiting a physical store to make a purchase. And while this has contributed to an overall decline in footfall traffic levels, shoppers arrive in-store informed and ready to purchase, rather than visiting multiple stores to locate their item of choice. It also means that when a shopper enters a store, they tend to be much further down the path to purchase.
For marketers, this means a greater focus is needed at the top of the sales funnel – where shoppers are researching and browsing products. By targeting these customers at the point in their journey that will encourage an in-store visit, retailers will see an uplift in traffic and conversion rates, while avoiding the risk of competitor pricing or products enticing the customer.
In order to connect with their target customer, on the appropriate channel, at precisely the right moment, retailers need an in-depth knowledge of their audience, their preferences and behaviours. By understanding what store a customer visits and when, their visit frequency, how they browse in-store, the service they receive and the types of products they buy, will prove invaluable insight when looking to hone in on targeted marketing efforts.
Today’s connected environment means that marketers are better positioned than ever before to get closer to their audience by implementing in-store technology and attribution solutions. Recognising the touchpoints that are resonating with customers and driving them in-store, allows retailers to tactically adjust marketing strategies and spend to optimise this activity.
However, marketing budgets are finite and, let’s face it, never enough. That’s why utilising budgets to their full potential is so crucial, and an art in itself.
It is important to remember that a one-size-fits-all approach is never advisable, and what worked last year doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right course of action this year. By continuously reviewing the data insights available, retailers can maintain a close eye on growing trends or changes in customer behaviour, and adapt marketing spend to complement these shifts. As a result, businesses can remain relevant to their audience, providing an enhanced, convenient and tailored experience which will encourage greater loyalty, return visits and spend.
Marketing and the physical store
Trend and behaviour tracking should not just highlight the peaks in traffic and spend, but should also report on where potential issues are starting to arise. Retailers can strategically leverage their marketing spend to motivate consumers to visit under-performing stores.
Create localised promotions – retailers allocate a significant amount of money to their marketing efforts. And while national promotional campaigns drive shoppers in-store and increase incremental sales, savvy retailers leverage store-level data to focus spend on certain districts and even specific stores. Rather than pushing large-scale, costly campaigns, this approach targets lower-trafficked stores and incentivises shoppers to visit locations with the greatest opportunity for growth, rather than attempting to drive traffic to already busy stores. By selectively approaching marketing efforts, retailers are able to save on spend and still increase their bottom line.
The future of marketing and retail
It is also beneficial to embrace new technologies to better align with customer device usage to achieve a single view of the shopper. Location-based technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), allow shoppers to opt-in to receive a personalised in-store experience, and as a result, provide retail marketers with highly valuable insights into consumer behaviour.
From there, marketers can then tailor the customer’s shopping experience to appeal to their likes and interests, crucially, picking up with shoppers once they have left the store – whether they made a purchase or not – and keeping up communications to leverage continuing brand loyalty.
With even more pressure on marketers to evaluate their impact on the bottom line, proving the effectiveness of in-store campaigns is essential. By analysing traffic patterns throughout the store and leveraging technology to get closer to shoppers, understanding their behaviour, demands and expectations, marketers have a more accurate and reliable means of influencing conversion rates and ROI through marketing spend.
By Steve Richardson, UK & MEA account director at ShopperTrak
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